Before I left the US, several friends told me about their great experiences in Buenos Aires. Combine that with the reputation of the city, and I expected a great time for this, my last stop on the South American trip. Perhaps the high expectations made my first bad experience seem worse.
It was a long trip from Puerto Montt to Santiago and then on to Buenos Aires, so I was thrilled when the cab finally pulled up in front of my hotel in Buenos Aires - the Kimpinski Park Hotel. It was a small very elegant hotel and I couldn't wait to get settled.
While registering, I mentioned that I would love to add an extra day to my stay in the hotel and was surprised to hear that the desk clerk couldn't help me. My reservation for the hotel was with Expedia.com and I would have to contact them by email to change my reservation. The desk clerk could be of no help. He went on to imply that I would not be able to afford to stay there if I hadn't gone through Expedia.com.
In the past I've heard the derrogatory terms "white trash," "trailor trash," and "euro-trash," but after listening to this desk clerk, I truly felt like "Expedia.com" trash. It was very clear that he considered the Expedia.com folks a cut below the others staying at "his" hotel. Also, during the almost hour it took me to register, he would stop helping me anytime someone else stepped up to the counter asking for help.
I later found out that Expedia.com buys huge blocks of rooms so that they can offer great prices. The usual stay at this hotel starts at $250 a night and my rate was $120. I was very happy to pay the Expedia.com rate, but the desk clerk had no right to be condescending.
Part 2 of this rant involves trying to sign up for a tour to Uraguay. The country lies across the bay from Buenos Aires and the town of Colonia in Uraguay had been highly recommended. Again I approached my "friend" the desk clerk and was told that he couldn't call and make a reservation for me. I would have to travel to the tourist company offices on the other side of the city to arrange a reservation. It couldn't be done by phone. When asked why, he said, "They are the only tour company that arranges this trip and they are so spoiled that they don't care if they get any business. If I (the desk clerk) tried to phone them, you (me) would have to stand beside me with your credit card and even then you could not get a reservation."
After trying twice to get help making a reservation to see Colonia, I gave up. Later, I researched this on the internet and there are several sites that give you step by step instructions for making your own reservations and navigating the boat trip and the border requirements. I highly recommend doing this. I've always believed in voting with my dollar. If the tour company is too spoiled to provide basic customer service, they won't get my business. Sadly it was too late for me to arrange a trip to Uraguay before leaving and I missed out on the experience of a new country.
Also, I have to say that even though the Kimpinski Park Hotel was a lovely elegant place, I would never stay there again. I can't reinforce that kind of customer service.
Okey - end of rant. This was the worst of my South American experience, but the upcoming Evita tour turned out to be one of the best. Stay tuned.....
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Buenos Aires, Argentina
You can't hear the name "Argentina" without evoking thoughts of the best steaks in the world, sexy hyper-masculine gouchos, excellent wines, sizzling tangos, political intrigue, a history of rampant inflation, and the larger than life paradox of Evita Peron.
In Buenos Aires, there is no middle ground when it comes to Evita; she is loved or hated, depending on the person asked. I must admit that I am an Evita groupie and have been one since I saw a billboard in New York advertising a new Broadway Play called "Evita." I was floored. What an insane idea to turn Evita Peron's life into a musical. History and Patty LuPone (the star of the Broadway musical) proved me wrong many times over. I saw the musical many times and began plowing through Evita biographies. This is a long way of saying my Buenos Aires trip was very focused on getting closer to the legend, especially in this town where it was shaped.
A personal opinion - the Broadway musical was far superior to the movie "Evita" with Madonna in the starring role (although the movie does have the truly gorgeous Antonio Banderas). Madonna's voice could not compete with Patty LuPone. If there is any way to hear a recording of the original Broadway cast - DO IT as a gift to yourself.
Interestingly, everywhere I went in Buenos Aires, the locals hated the Evita movie. The only explanation I could get was that they dislike the portrayal of her personal suffering during her terminal illness. I'm guessing it has to do with a cultural need to protect her privacy during her personal ordeal.
In Buenos Aires, there is no middle ground when it comes to Evita; she is loved or hated, depending on the person asked. I must admit that I am an Evita groupie and have been one since I saw a billboard in New York advertising a new Broadway Play called "Evita." I was floored. What an insane idea to turn Evita Peron's life into a musical. History and Patty LuPone (the star of the Broadway musical) proved me wrong many times over. I saw the musical many times and began plowing through Evita biographies. This is a long way of saying my Buenos Aires trip was very focused on getting closer to the legend, especially in this town where it was shaped.
A personal opinion - the Broadway musical was far superior to the movie "Evita" with Madonna in the starring role (although the movie does have the truly gorgeous Antonio Banderas). Madonna's voice could not compete with Patty LuPone. If there is any way to hear a recording of the original Broadway cast - DO IT as a gift to yourself.
Interestingly, everywhere I went in Buenos Aires, the locals hated the Evita movie. The only explanation I could get was that they dislike the portrayal of her personal suffering during her terminal illness. I'm guessing it has to do with a cultural need to protect her privacy during her personal ordeal.
Stopover in Puerto Montt, Chile
One day was scheduled to visit the resort town of Puerto Montt before my flight back to Santiago. It is a resort city that hosts cruise ships from around the world and it was recommended by one of Chiloe's residents; "Why did you come here when you could have gone to Puerto Montt?"
To get there from Isle de Chiloe, take the ferry to the mainland and follow Rt 5 (what else?) until the turn-off that goes east to the city. The city wraps around the bay and is beautiful, but didn't capture my heart like Isle de Chiloe. I drove the beach side highway back and forth several times and finally stopped at the sight of my first South American shopping center. Generally I hate shopping centers, but this one sat oceanside and had spectacular views on every floor, floors of food courts, and Disneyland types of entertainment on every floor. I loved it!
A good night's sleep and then off to find the airport, which should have been a 45 minute drive. I found one "airport" sign exiting off Rt 5, but no signs after that. Over 3 hours of driving on every kind of road, stopping anyone I could find in this very remote area, and asking "aeropuerto?" with airplane hand gestures, finally led me to the airport. Even at the entrance to the airport there were no signs, another indicator that tourism is still in its first steps there.
For more pictures of this area, the following link contains photo albums of;
"Island Adventures in Isle de Chiloe, Chile" or
"Puerto Montt and Flight Back to Santiago"
All my South American travel albums can be found at
http://picasaweb.google.com/ramblinme
Enjoy - and Happy Trails!
To get there from Isle de Chiloe, take the ferry to the mainland and follow Rt 5 (what else?) until the turn-off that goes east to the city. The city wraps around the bay and is beautiful, but didn't capture my heart like Isle de Chiloe. I drove the beach side highway back and forth several times and finally stopped at the sight of my first South American shopping center. Generally I hate shopping centers, but this one sat oceanside and had spectacular views on every floor, floors of food courts, and Disneyland types of entertainment on every floor. I loved it!
A good night's sleep and then off to find the airport, which should have been a 45 minute drive. I found one "airport" sign exiting off Rt 5, but no signs after that. Over 3 hours of driving on every kind of road, stopping anyone I could find in this very remote area, and asking "aeropuerto?" with airplane hand gestures, finally led me to the airport. Even at the entrance to the airport there were no signs, another indicator that tourism is still in its first steps there.
For more pictures of this area, the following link contains photo albums of;
"Island Adventures in Isle de Chiloe, Chile" or
"Puerto Montt and Flight Back to Santiago"
All my South American travel albums can be found at
http://picasaweb.google.com/ramblinme
Enjoy - and Happy Trails!
Isle de Chiloe- + and -
Leaving the island(s) gave me a chance to look back and think about what I would have done differently. Pluses - I definitely would return to the island and stay at the Ancud Hotel. The Penguin tour was great as was all the time that I spent exploring the town of Ancud. As for the drive to the south of the island, I would have spent much less time in the towns on the East of the Island ( Castro, Conchi). Instead I would visit Cucao on the Pacific side. You can ride horseback to explore the beaches and National Park there and several tour books call it the most beautiful beach in Chile. Also, I would have taken a private plane or boat to explore the hundreds of island surrounding the main island. The tides create an unusual phenomena in the outlying islands. Around Cucao (Pacific side) the tide rises to 8 feet. Near Quenchi, on the other side, the tide rises to 23 feet due to the shallowness of the interior sea. At times you can actually walk from island to island. The receding tides leave fish and shellfish trapped in the pools providing food and livelihood for the islanders. I merely touched the surface of what you can see and do in these islands.
Last Day at Hotel Ancud -Farewell Isle de Chiloe
After living at the Hotel Ancud for a week, it was like leaving home on that last day. I had settled in to waking to the crisp mornings with the smell of the wood-burning fireplace, the cafe con leche and yards of breakfast goodies, the warm and gracious staff, and the suns glow over the beautiful bay. Even the wooden floors and log walls seem to take on the sunlit glow.
My last morning there brought a pleasant surprise - for the first time in my trip to South America, I heard Americans speaking. I love travelling on my own, but after three weeks, it was a treat to finally speak to someone without my dictionary and hand gestures. The California couple kindly invited me to join their breakfast table and I couldn't stop talking. They were charming and extremely tolerant of the strange rabid woman sharing breakfast with them. For me, a nice ending to my time in Isle de Chiloe. Onward to the resort town of Puerto Montt.
My last morning there brought a pleasant surprise - for the first time in my trip to South America, I heard Americans speaking. I love travelling on my own, but after three weeks, it was a treat to finally speak to someone without my dictionary and hand gestures. The California couple kindly invited me to join their breakfast table and I couldn't stop talking. They were charming and extremely tolerant of the strange rabid woman sharing breakfast with them. For me, a nice ending to my time in Isle de Chiloe. Onward to the resort town of Puerto Montt.
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